It's the End of the World as They Know It
by ShinjuJaganshi
Summary: There's a new girl at Hogwarts! When she finds herself torn between the Golden Trio and Draco Malfoy, will she bring them together? I changed it a lot! Teehee!
1. Chapter 1

Shinju: I am finally writing a Harry Potter fic!

Sango: And destroying the lives of all the characters as she goes.

Shinju: Oh it'll all work out eventually.

Sango: ….

Shinju: And now, a short intro to the staff.

Sango: I'm Sango, Shinju's twin and best friend. I provide encouragement, comments, and sanity.

Moriko: I'm one of Shinju's friends. I'm a strange hippie, and I don't show up much. But I do bring chocolate!

Mister Kat: I'm Shinju's muse. I provide inspiration, joy, and constant annoyance. I'm also known as 'that freaky stuffed cat Shinju insists on keeping'.

Shinju: And I'm Shinju, your beloved authoress. All bow before me.

All: …

Shinju: DRACO! Say. It. NOW.

Draco: This muggle, err, demon, owns nothing except Alice, whom she is welcome to keep so long as the girl stops RUINING MY LIFE!

Shinju: Special thanks to for bringing Foamy the Squirrel to life and allowing me to share his anger. We bow before you my lord Foamy.

Whispers were ringing through the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Dumbledore was standing patiently at the Head Table, with a young, robed and hooded girl next to him. She (they assumed it was a girl from her very upright and dainty stance) looked about the height of a 7th year, but nobody could really see her face. Her hair was hidden too under her dark robes that were the color of twilight.

The color of her cloak was a wonder in itself. Most robes were MIDnight colored, not TWIlight.

As soon as the noise died down, he began to speak.

"Once again we begin a new year. This year we have a foreign exchange student. She just moved here from Japan. Her mother has been home schooling her in magic, and so she is able to begin here in her 7th year. Please welcome the newest Gryffindor, Alice Nexfalinta!" smiled Dumbledore, valiantly speaking the girl's impossible last name, miraculously without making a single error. As the Hall burst into cheers, the girl walked down to the table. Harry and Ron scooted apart so she could sit. As she sat, she pulled back her hood, and Hermione had to gasp. The girl was absolutely beautiful! Her cotton candy pink hair curled and rested in two long, curly pigtails on the top of her head, and her sky blue eyes danced mischievously, silver streaks flashing in them. Thin silver hoops dangled from her ears like they had been made for her, while twin dots of silver rested just above. Her upper left ear was pierced with a little silver hoop that had topaz colored beads on it. Her skin was pale and flawless, her mouth pink and pretty. And when she opened her mouth, it was a sound to make men drool at her voice alone.

"Hello! I'm Alice! Are you Harry and Hermione and Ron?" she chirped, her voice the sound of bluebirds singing in the spring time. Hermione had to lean over and shut Ron's mouth. Ginny did the same thing for Harry.

"I'm Harry, that's Ron, and that's Hermione. Happy to meet you." Harry finally smiled. He silently prayed that this wasn't some kind of strange fangirl out to stalk them, or a religious nut out to save their souls.

"Oh good! Then I know I'm where I should be. I've heard of you all, and I'm not some strange fangirl, I'm the girl who's popped from nowhere to fix your lives!" she smiled. With that admission, they couldn't really do anything but nod and make polite conversation. She turned out to be a really nice girl, though she tended to flirt with every boy in a fifty foot radius. She made friends with EVERYONE at the Gryffindor table. Soon, dinner was done and they were getting ready to leave, when Alice turned around.

"Oh hang on! I'll just be a moment!" she begged breathlessly, in a way that sounded desperate and terrified that they would say no. Harry could hardly nod before she flew off to the Hall.

"I wonder what she forgot in there. She wasn't carrying anything in…" said Ron quietly before they heard a loud shout through the Great Hall.

"DRACO MALFOY! GET YOUR ASS OVER TO THIS SIDE OF THE ROOM, NOW!"

The Golden Trio turned toward the Hall in utter horror to see Alice standing on a bench, one hand on a hip, the other cupped around her mouth, yelling for Malfoy the Ferret. They could see that she wore baggy, low cut black jeans under her robes, and tight black gloves with white fishnet under where they laced up, and white lace around the edges. The gloves didn't cover any of her fingers, just looped around the joint between her thumb and pointer finger. But none of that really mattered as they saw a confused and pissed off Draco marching towards them.

Doomsday was lurking around the corner and it hadn't even been a whole 24 hours since they arrived.

Then they noticed that Pansy was hanging onto his arm as he moved, which was what accounted for his being pissed off.

"For the last time, get off me!" he snarled at Pansy, who only hung on harder and made whimpering sounds.

Alice smiled cheerfully and skipped right on up to meet them.

SLAP!

A very surprised Pansy was lying on the floor, her hand to her now very pink cheek. Alice was now beaming little rays of happiness, her smile saying 'hit her? me? now why would you ever think such a thing?' Draco looked ready to start laughing, and Harry and the rest were about to start laughing with him.

"H-how dare you…you…YOU HIT ME!" shrieked Pansy, flying to her feet in a fine fury.

"And if you insist on hanging onto him like that, I'm afraid I'm going to have to do it again. Now turn around and walk away so that I don't have to pound your sorry ass into the ground." smiled Alice, her smile now laced with iron and steel. Her eyes had begun to flash evil and malice. Pansy slunk away. Alice took a deep breath and turned around.

"Draco!" she trilled, hugging him tightly. He looked at her in surprise and more than a little fear.

"Draco! It's me! Alice!" she pouted, as though to imply that his forgetting her was simply the worst that would ever happen to her. His face suddenly light up in recognition.

"Alice!" he laughed, swinging her in a big wide circle. Harry and Ron stood there, jaws dropped. Neither one could believe that Draco was smiling.

Draco. Malfoy. Was. _Smiling_.

**It's the end of the world as we know it, it's the end of the world as we know it…**

Hermione simply stood there. Something about them twirling around, smiling and looking so happy was making her jealous. _Wait, jealous? Whoa now, I do NOT like Malfoy! Never in a million years! No bloody way!_ she thought, ordering her traitorous mind to agree with her. _But you do._ it argued back. She bit her lip and tried hard not to cry, reminding herself that he and she hated each other.

"You two….know each other?" Harry finally managed to get out. Alice nodded.

"We knew each other as kids, but then…" her voice trailed off as she looked at Draco, her eyes asking for permission, but he gave her a slight shake of the head. She sighed, and continued.

"Then my Mom decided to move to Japan, and we c…didn't want to make the owls go that far, so we haven't talked since." she smiled, beaming at Draco, who gave a small smile back. Then he remembered.

"Alice, I'm not welcome here. I'd best be off before _they_ remember that too." he said, his voice almost sad. Alice looked around, confused. Then she saw Harry and Ron, reaching for their wands, and Hermione glaring. If looks could kill, Draco would have been lucky to be dead. She looked at Draco, whose hand was on his wand too, then started laughing.

"Alice! Get away from him or Harry might hit you on accident!" ordered Hermione, fearful for her new friend's life and sanity.

"I've got it!" trilled Alice, spinning out to the middle of the group. Whipping out her wand, she flourished it a few times, then made her move.

She pointed at Draco with her wand, then the Golden Trio.

"I'm going to get all of you to be friends by the end of this year! What's more, I'm going to pair each of you up with the person who's right for you!" giggled Alice. Draco's face became a whole lot paler all of a sudden. He ran up and grabbed Alice by the shoulders.

"No! No way are you going on some insane mission to ruin my life again! Don't you dare do it Alice!" shouted Draco. Alice just shook her head and danced her way up the stairs.

"Oh and by the way. Hermione and Draco, you two are leashed together. I'm changing all your classes so that you're together, since you only have about the distance between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. Don't worry, Hermione, it lets you go to bed separately, but not when I arrange with Dumbledore for you two to share a room. After all, she's Head Girl and he's Head Boy! It only makes sense! Ta ta!" she called over her shoulder. Draco just put his head in his hand. Harry and Ron were stuck staring at the now empty staircase.

Oddly enough, Hermione was the one who talked first.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

Shinju: If you want to know what Alice looks like, it's more a punk version of Miwako from Paradise Kiss, the manga. Type it into Google!

Sango: Till next time!


	2. Silver Bells

Shinju: I'm bbbaacckkk!

Sango: Did you miss us?

Draco: NO!

Sango: That's not nice…

Mister Kat: He's Draco, and you are ruining his life. You EXPECT him to be nice?

Sango: Well…yeah.

Shinju: How are you Alice?

Alice: Hermione fed me candy!

All: HERMIONE!

Hermione: ShinjuJaganshi owns nothing, no matter how hard she wishes.

Shinju: That was mean.

Mister Kat: Has she had her mocha yet?

Hermione: No.

Mister Kat: Here.

Hermione: COFFEE!

Sango: Special thanks to my mother, who tells me that no matter how much I wish it would go away, the story must be finished. And that she didn't labor for 24 hours after forcing labor by mowing the lawn in 100 degree South Carolina weather just so I could lie around the house all day. Thanks mom.

* * *

The story so far: Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Harry and the gang find a pretty young girl named Alice, who just transferred from Japan. She's in Gryffindor too. But she's also childhood friends with Draco! As soon as she realizes that her new friends and her old friend hate each other, she begins an epic journey. To make the enemies friends, and pair them up with the perfect person!

From the last chapter:

Draco. Malfoy. Was. _Smiling_.

**It's the end of the world as we know it, it's the end of the world as we know it…**

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" screamed Hermione. She turned to run up the stairs, putting Carl Lewis to shame as she chased her new friend, bent on torturing, maiming, and then maybe killing her in the most painful ways she could possibly think of. It wasn't long before they heard a loud crash and a long string of curses. Harry whistled, clearly impressed.

"Did you know Hermione could swear?" Ron asked Harry. Harry shook his head, then turned towards Draco, confusion overpowering his instinct to hex Malfoy and cause his demise in a painful and humiliating way.

"Malfoy, what is going on?"

"It's Alice's hobby. She's trying to 'fix' our lives, making us best friends and having us all dating and happy." moaned Draco, his head still in his hand.

"Is she good?" asked Ron, worried about his sanity. FRIENDS?With Malfoy? No thank you very much and all the same, but he'd rather not. Draco gave him a pained look, like he didn't really want to give the answer.

"She's the best at it. What's more, if she can't do it now, she will track us down and force us to be happy." said Draco, turning to go to the dungeons. He got all of three feet before he fell down, cursing as he went. Ron whistled. He was even better at it than Hermione had been.

"Oh the joy. Remind me to ask the gods why I seem to be on their bad person list. I-am-going-to-bed-now." Draco said, very slowly and clearly. He got up and took a few careful steps forward. Nothing happened. he exhaled very, very quietly, and stalked off to the dungeons. Harry and Ron were left behind, snickering softly as they went to bed.

"WHY ALICE? WHY?" howled Hermione desperately to her friend, clutching the edge of her blanket. Alice just frowned.

"Why do you hate him?" asked Alice softly. Hermione jerked her head up to look at her friend in shock and confusion. Why? Because! She had to hate him! He was…was…a Slytherin! He was Malfoy the Ferret, a Death Eater!

"Because he's a Death Eater Alice! He hates us! He calls me a…a mudblood!" explained Hermione hurriedly. She didn't know why she felt sort of…wrong for saying it, but she forced the words out, and waited for Alice to speak.

"How do you know he's a Death Eater?" Alice asked again, her voice low and sad.

"His perfect father's a Death Eater, so of course his little Ferret's going to be one too!" snapped Hermione. Something about it seemed wrong though, and she just didn't know what.

"That isn't true Hermione. Draco hates his father."

Hermione reeled backwards as the force of this statement hit her hard. Malfoy the perfect, always raving about his father and how perfect his family was, hated his father?

"Why?"

"That's for him to tell you. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it." snapped Alice, glaring hard. With that, she flipped over and stopped talking. Hermione sighed in disappointment and went back to her own bed. The last thoughts she had before she fell asleep were, _Why? Why do we hate him so much?_

The next day, Hermione was stuck in a classroom with her worst enemy. Malfoy didn't seem to mind that he was sitting next to a mudblood. He was far more interested in Snape's lecture. She quickly got back to her own notes, thinking about how she could use this potion to her advantage. It was a truth potion, and one that lasted a full day. It bound to person who drank it speak the truth and nothing but the truth for a whole day. If the witch or wizard who made it was strong enough, then the person would answer questions that they didn't even know the answer to. Snape had been evil to the last, and paired her with Malfoy.

She concentrated on putting the final ingredient into the blue liquid, and watched with satisfaction as it turned bright pink. Good. Now for the hard bit.

"Well? Aren't you going to drink it Malfoy?" she asked. Draco looked at her in shock. The expression on his face just screamed, _Are you mad woman?_

"_Drink_ it? But…it's so…so…_pink_! And besides, I'm not drinking anything made by a mudblood!" he shuddered, pulling away. She grinned, choosing to ignore the insult.

"Do you want to pass this or not?" she asked, taunting him a bit. He squared his shoulders, glared at her, and drank the amount she had given him.

"See? That wasn't so bad." she giggled. He glared at her.

"That was utterly repulsive." he snarled. She grinned, her smile hinting at unspeakable evils.

"Now…I'm going to ask questions. Why do you call me a mudblood?" she asked. The question was one she'd thought about every day since her second year. Draco looked like he would rather eat slugs than answer, but he had to.

"It…it keeps up my…my act." he whispered, glaring a hole in the floor. She was stunned. The entire holier-than-thou-because-I-am-rich-and-inbred attitude was…an act?

"What do you mean, an act?" she stuttered. Luckily no one in the class was paying any attention to them. They were too busy tormenting each other.

"I…can't seem useful to the…D-Dark Lord or I'll be m-marked. But I c-can't seem like a t-t-traitor or I'll be killed." he whispered, struggling against the potion. She was in even deeper shock. But she had to keep going.

"Why do you hate Harry?"

"Be…because if…if he doesn't….doesn't trust…trust me then I can't…spy on him for…for my father." came the hesitant reply. Hermione was horrified. Draco Malfoy, _protecting _Harry Potter from the Dark Lord's followers? How could such a thing be? He was a Death Eater, someone of evil powers, out to kill Harry. Right?

"Why do you want to protect Harry?"

"If…he d…dies then the world…will fall into…into the Dark Lord's hands and…and besides…I would be s-sad." He muttered, his gaze helpless. She could tell in his eyes that he didn't want to tell any of this to her. And she felt horrible, like she was violating some kind of sacred place.

"Class dismissed." droned Snape, not even looking up from his desk.

Saved by the devil. Oh joy.

"Come on Drakie. Lets go somewhere without a _mudblood _nearby. You don't want to be near _her_ do you?" purred Pansy, cuddling up to him.

"I…I…" Draco backed away, trying his hardest not to answer the question. He bumped into Hermione. He looked back and forth, frantic. Harry and Ron were edging closer and closer. And then Hermione decided to take action.

"Come on Draco!" she said, grabbing his arm and running out the door.

"What are you doing?" he cried, barely managing to keep up with her.

"Getting you out of there!" she laughed. And suddenly, she heard a strange sound. She then realized something. Draco Malfoy was laughing! And it was a nice sounding laugh too. Sort of like big brass bells ringing.

Draco noticed that her laugh still sounded like silver bells.

They turned a corner and collapsed to the floor, both laughing hard. Neither one knew what was just so funny, but for a whole minute, they were both happy just being next to each other.

Shinju: Done! Now weren't those some nice little secrets spilled!

* * *

Sango: You thought that we would tell you why Draco hates his father don't you?

Shinju: Not yet my little squirrels! Soon though!

Sango: For now, here's a cookie!


	3. Not What You Think

Shinju: Hahaha! We're back once again, ready to destroy the world, replace its leaders with squirrels and…

Sango: Continue this story.

Shinju: Yeah, that too.

Mister Kat: You've been watching Foamy again haven't you.

Shinju: My lord and master must be obeyed.

Mister Kat: Squirrel…hmm…haven't had squirrel in a while…

Sango: ShinjuJaganshi owns nothing other than Alice, some popcorn, and her kick ass laptop, Fred the Squirrel.

Shinju: GO FRED!

Mister Kat: You named it Fred the Squirrel?

Shinju: So?

Mister Kat: Why?

Shinju: Why not?

Mister Kat: Special thanks to whoever the hell created bumper stickers. If it weren't for you, we'd all be really bored in traffic jams. And of course, Fred would have no decoration. Thank you unknown person, for you are both kind and wise.

* * *

The story so far: Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Harry and the gang find a pretty young girl named Alice, who just transferred from Japan. She's in Gryffindor too. But she's also childhood friends with Draco! As soon as she realizes that her new friends and her old friend hate each other, she begins an epic journey. To make the enemies friends, and pair them up with the perfect person!

* * *

From the last chapter:

""Now…I'm going to ask questions. Why do you call me a mudblood?" she asked. The question was one she'd thought about every day since her second year. Draco looked like he would rather eat slugs than answer, but he had to.

"It…it keeps up my…my act."

* * *

When Hermione walked into the Gryffindor Common Room, she found Ron and Harry waiting there for her. And neither one looked very happy. In fact, they both seemed pretty upset. She couldn't begin to think why…oh. That.

"Hermione, why did you do that!" demanded Ron, steam practically coming out his ears.

"You ran off with Malfoy! I mean, this is the one who calls you _mudblood_ everyday! You know, our worst enemy?" shouted Harry. She looked at them both in shock. Why were they so upset?

Oh. They didn't know yet. They didn't know that _mudblood_ was a name that existed only to keep up Draco's act, that Draco only became their enemy to protect them, that Draco hated the Dark Side. They didn't know anything about him, and yet there they were, telling her how evil he was, how she should hate him because he hated them.

Her temper started to rise.

"Why should I hate him?" she asked, her head held proudly. Ron glared at her, while Harry stared in shock.

"He wants to kill me! He hates us! He's an evil little Death Eater, or will be someday! He hates you! He wants nothing more than for the Dark Lord to rise up and rule the world, and when he does, he'll torment us all daily, if we aren't dead!" shouted Ron, frustration and anger clouding his judgment.

"How do you know?"

"And he…what?" stopped Ron, staring at her is shock.

"You know nothing about him." she said, her voice cold.

"Oh, so you know more? You know how much he loves the little birdies and the flowers and the…" ranted Ron, but Hermione stopped him short.

"Yes I know more, but why should I tell to blundering idiots like you what it is? All you want is to hate him! Evidence was under our noses the whole time, but hatred blinded us! I listened, but pigs may just start flying overhead on the day you two are willing to!" she screamed. As she screamed, her tears began to creep out, blinding her and tricking down her face. When she was done, she ran sobbing up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Hermione…" whispered Harry softly. Ron looked up at where she had gone to.

"Hey you know what? Now that I think about it, those two were paired up on the truth potion project. I wonder…" whispered Ron. The two looked at each other, shook their heads, and went upstairs.

Hermione stood at the window in her room, waiting eagerly. Soon, just as she'd hoped, the big silver owl came swooping into her room, a note attached to the foot. She quickly unrolled it, settling onto the window seat to read it.

_Hermione, _

_I think you're a genius! This way, until everyone can accept it, we can be good friends and talk to each other. Well, of course you're a genius. You are Hermione Granger after all._

_You wanted to know when I got my crush on…on…well, lets call this person um…X. Stupid, over used name, but it serves its purpose. Let's see…probably from the first day I saw...them. And the way they stood up and fought for their beliefs only made things worse. It isn't really a simple crush anymore. I truly love…them._

_So no, I didn't fall in love with them at the Yule Ball, or even during the tasks. It happened long before then. But I can understand your concern. After all, you are their friend._

_I was amazed that you were willing to help me win them over. Amazing! So, I shall never again mock you or your home. God bless S.P.E.W!_

_In your debt_

_Draco. _

She blushed at the praise, and was surprised at the confession. She laughed at his handwriting, and smiled at the signature.

"In my debt…well, his is a gentleman…Now if only…uh, X, would stop being a prat…"

Draco looked up to see his owl flying back. Good. It seemed like he'd been waiting for hours, though it had only been a few minutes really. With eager anticipation, he took the note from Artemis.

_Draco,_

_I'm blushing from your praise! Really, it wasn't too hard to think of. Owls in the Great Hall are noticed, and Harry and Ron are sure to try and read what I get. Likewise for you, though I'm sure you could hold off Pansy easily._

_Speaking of the Golden Boys, we had a fight about you. Don't worry, I didn't tell them anything. I'm not the sort to blab a secret. But then, I bet you knew that already._

_Your owl is so beautiful. What's her name? I'm sure it's a girl, but then, I can never tell the difference. _

_I'm glad you appreciate my help so much. Does this mean that you won't enslave any more innocent house elves? I'm sure that they will come around eventually if you treat them like you're treating me. After all, we all thought that you hated us. It's quite a shock to find that you're in love with one of our friends! _

_Remember, Alice is arranging for us to share a room, so that's in our favor too. Soon, you'll have them won over and eating out of the palm of your hand!_

_I can't for the next letter!_

_Waiting Eagerly,_

_Hermione_

Draco smiled to himself as he read. He could hold off Pansy, that was true. He was sorry that she'd fought with Ron and Harry, but he was relived that she hadn't told them about the talk the two had had.

**Flashback**

"_Hermione, you can't tell anyone! My father might find out, and then we'd all be in danger! You can't tell them, especially Harry! Imagine if he started getting friendly with me! My father would have me spy on him! He might even make me kill…you know. He can't know!" Draco begged, his eyes full of fear. Hermione nodded._

_"I won't tell. The secrets are safe with me."_

_"Good."_

_"A 'thank you' would have been nice."_

_"I'm not a nice person."_

_"Yes you are."_

_"No, I'm an evil person, remember?"_

_"Oh."_

_"…"_

_"Draco…about you liking…them…"she whispered, a faint blush rising up at the mention of her friend.._

_"…" Draco was blushing even harder, and it made it hard for her to focus._

_"Let's be friends so that I can help you win them over! We can send owls at night when everyone else is asleep!"_

**End Flashback**

Hermione blushed a bit at the memory, then sighed. There wouldn't be anymore letters that night. They had agreed that a two letters total could be sent in a single night. Any more would be far too risky. Still sighing, she reached into a drawer on her bedside table. She pulled out a small dark wooden box, about the size of a letter. Flowers were engraved into the wood, the stems entwined and dancing. Carefully, she placed the letter in her box.

Draco pulled out the bottom of the drawer. It was a huge false bottom, one that only he knew about. Before he placed the letter inside, he smiled up at the night sky, his eyes distant.

"Thank you Hermione." he whispered softly.

"Good luck Draco." she whispered softly.

"Sweet dreams to all." murmured Alice, laughing softly to herself over her success so far.

* * *

Shinju: Okay! This is great! All nice and slow!

Sango: Yup, things are going great!

Shinju: Patience my little squirrels, for soon there shall be muffins!

Sango: Translation; Get ready, cause there'll be another one next week or even sooner!


End file.
